Dear Emily

Comments (0) By Michael Leaverton Wednesday, Sep 5 2007

We get the feeling that some people are sitting around saying things like, "Wah! Emily the Strange is a corporate whore!" It could be due to her upcoming 20th Century Fox movie, or the fact that her Web site screams Internet Marketing Device and reminds us of what's going on at www.bratz.com. But, Emily haters, ask yourself this: Isn't the exquisitely pale little goth creature merely a cartoon character? And shouldn't you save your outrage for something that is not one? Besides, the forces behind the media anti-darling, which have been working Emily and her cats since 1993, still package together local wonders like the "Strange Beasts" group art exhibit. One-half of the gallery consists of what you expect: paintings by the capable hands of creators Rob Reger and Buzz Parker. (Reger turns in Escherlike fever dreams of Emily, and Parker envisions the flora and fauna of Emily's wicked garden.) The other half is dedicated to 18 other artists' take on Emily, and it's a fiendishly impressive group, including Greg Bianchini, Tim Biskup, Brian Brooks, Fawn Gehweiler, Maya Hayuk, Jenny Lens, Jason Mecier, Adele Mildred, Mike Moon, J.Shea, Winston Smith, Noel Tolentino, and Nix Turner.